AVES. 349 
straight, generally toothed and hooked, gape generally with bristles ; wings 
generally moderate ; tail more or less lengthened ; tarsi and feet strong ; 
claws curved and sharp. 
A family consisting of about one hundred and fifty birds, which represent 
the strongest rapacious characters of the Dentirostres. No others have 
the bill so strongly toothed as those of the genus Lanius, which fact 
induced Linnzus to arrange them as rapacious birds. 
These birds are distributed throughout the world. 
Sub-fam. 1. Laniine, Butcher Birds, or Shrikes. Bill strong, rather 
short, curved, much compressed, hooked, and generally strongly toothed ; 
wings generally long and rounded; tail moderate; tarsi and feet rather 
short and robust ; claws curved and acute. 
This sub-family is distributed over the whole surface of the globe. All 
the species are of remarkably predaceous habits, preying upon insects. 
reptiles, and even other birds, which, it is said, they destroy by strangling. 
Some of the species impale insects on thorns for the purpose of securing 
them while feeding. The butcher bird of Europe, Lanius exubitor (pl. 102, 
fig. 20), is well known, being a very common bird in France, and 
generally distributed throughout the continent. The red-backed shrike, 
L. collurio (pl. 102, fig. 19), is another European species of frequent 
occurrence. 
The North American species best known are the northern butcher bird 
(LZ. septentrionalis) and the Louisiana butcher bird (L. ludovicianus). 
The former inhabits the whole territory of the United States, and is almost 
as rapacious as the small hawks. He is rather a handsome bird, with fine 
grey and white plumage, and is known in some districts by the name of 
the winter mocking-bird, having some resemblance to the bird indicated. 
The Louisiana species is similar in general appearance and habits, and is 
almost restricted to the Southern States. 
Several other species are natives of Asia and South America. 
Sub-fam. 2. Thamnophiline, or Bush Shrikes. Bill lengthened, straight, 
compressed, hooked at the tip, gape more or less bristled ; wings moderate, 
rounded ; tail iong, rounded ; tarsi and feet moderate. Size various. 
Africa and South America are the countries inhabited by the bush 
shrikes, though one genus found in New Guinea is arranged here. 
The South American species inhabit the vast forests of that portion of 
this continent, and are said to live almost exclusively on beetles and other 
hard-shelled insects. The striped shrike (Thamnophilus doliatus) and the 
spotted shrike (7. nevius) are common species. 
The ‘African birds of this sub-family (genus Laniarius) generally have 
considerable beauty of plumage, the prevailing colors being fine black and 
scarlet; the Barbary shrike, L. barbarus (pl. 102, fig. 18), and the olive- 
colored shrike (L. olivaceus), are frequently met with. The species 
from New Guinea belong to the genus Cracticus; they are similar in 
general habits and history to the others of this sub-family. One of the 
most common species is the black and white shrike, C. varius (pl. 102. 
fig. 16). 
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